It was supposed to be just the next in a long line of tests for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. It turned out to be a six game struggle in which the Golden Knights were only able to muster up three points on a 1-4-1 record.
But according to the man behind the bench, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
I was real happy with the way we played (on the road trip). It’s a big road trip, we played six games and we only got three points out of it. But I thought we deserved a lot more than that. We’ve played good hockey. We’ve had a few periods where we didn’t play real well but for the most part I’m real happy with the way we played and competed on the road. It was really our first test to go on the road like this and I think it’s going to help our team in the long run. -Gerard Gallant
He’s not wrong. Looking back, Vegas outplayed the Islanders, Rangers, Senators, Maple Leafs, and Canadiens for two of the three periods (and overtime in Toronto), but those bad periods were really bad and cost the Golden Knights a bunch of points they could have had on the road.
We (kind of) missed you Oscar. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Things got even more difficult right out of the gates of the road trip when Oscar Dansk went down leave the Golden Knights with Max Lagace as the only useable goalie. When all was said and done, Lagace wasn’t great, but he was certainly good enough to keep Vegas in games.
1-4-1 is what it is, and there’s not getting those points back. Now, it’s a couple days off, a quick stop at T-Mobile Arena, and then back north of the border for a pair of games with the Oilers and Canucks.
19 points. 15 games. It’s pretty good, especially for an “e-word” team, but they probably did deserve a lot more than that.
VGK4Life
We always knew that this road trip was going to really test us. Then we had the misfortune of Dansk going down right at the start which just compounded the trip immeasurably. I would’ve liked to see the Knights come out more aggressively as you’ve made mention previously insteading finding themselves 3 or 4 goals down before they pushed forward a d let loose. Lagace is not an NHL goaltender at this point in his life if ever. The blame isnt solely his, but confidence spreads like wild fire. If there is no confidence and the goals are pouring in like a sieve it affects the entire roster. Thanks again for a great site.